Holborn Whippet, London WC1
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Holborn and Legal London
Bar, specialist (Euston Tap)
25-29 Sicilian Avenue WC1A 2QH
T 020 3137 9937 w holbornwhippet.com f HolbornWhippet tw holbornwhippet
Open 1200-2300 (2330 Thu-Fri, closed Sun though may change in future). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 6 (often local or unusual guests), Other beer 10 keg, Also Some wines and specialist spirits.
Food Short burger and steak menu, Outdoor Some tables on street, Wifi.
Table football, functions and parties.
The owners of the Euston Tap expanded to this more central location in June 2012. While not as characterful as the Tap’s repurposed gatehouse, the site has its interest: it’s on Sicilian Avenue, a short, elegant and well preserved Italian-inspired pedestrianised shopping street of a type unusual in London, developed in 1910 and still something of a pleasant surprise in businesslike Holborn.
The Whippet presides over two conjoined units at one end of the street. Indoors is breezily but stylishly minimalist, with a bar area centred on a brick pillar from which cask and keg taps sprout, and an adjacent area with high tables. There’s also a small cellar bar available for private hire. Although more generously proportioned than the Tap, it’s still a squeeze, particularly as it’s regularly busy.
What packs them in is the range of beers from independent producers served by very knowledgeable staff in attractive surroundings. Aside from Bitburger as the house lager, all the lines rotate, with adventurous British brewers like Arbor, Bristol, Camden Town, Dark Star, Magic Rock, Oldershaw, Redemption and Thornbridge represented across both cask and keg taps.
Other kegs might come from the Czech Republic (Bernard), Belgium (Duvel), Germany (Hof, König, Weihenstephaner) or the USA (Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Stone). There’s no room for a bottle fridge, and cask purists suspicious of the unusual dispensing arrangements will be reassured to know that air and not gas pressure is used.
Underground Holborn Cycling LCN+ 6 39 Walking Jubilee Walkway
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